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Okay, here is something I have been thinking about lately.
In aikido I see at least one thing that has been dropped out of Aikido since Osensei died. That would be omoto kyo. I am curious if there are any western dojos which have a focus on Omoto Kyo, but i doubt it.
There are also two other things that I see having petered off, but vary by dojo.
The first is weapons. There are numerous threads about weapons/no weapons all the time, and I have no desire to discuss that here. What I would really like talk about is kiai.
1. Who does it in their dojo, and who doesn't?
2. What is the tradition of when, how, where taught by your dojo.
3. My teacher kiaied on occasion vocally and always "silently, through kokyu." Kiai, literaly means a lot of ki, so I guess he was right. I kiai randomly, and have learned mostly from different arts, so my finally question is what do you kiai, (haiya! e-! iei! ho!)
Alrighty, anything to scream about out there?

Originally posted by thomasgroendal What I would really like talk about is kiai.
1. Who does it in their dojo, and who doesn't?
2. What is the tradition of when, how, where taught by your dojo.
4. ....my finally question is what do you kiai, (haiya! e-! iei! ho!)

1. Only me in my present dojo; it gets me dirty looks from the teacher ("JESUS! You scared the **** out of me!") I did it at a seminar, too, and overheard someone suggest that caffeine hereafter be withheld from me.

2. None. Nowhere. I've heard Saotome kiai many times, but few of his students.

Having developed the same questions as yourself a while back (and having used them to very concrete effect in karate), I began playing with kiai and made some interesting discoveries.

First, I found that it takes extraordinary effort to give a hale kiai without crushing UKE/NAGE.

It also makes UKE/NAGE freeze, go stiff, and move in manners dangerous to the continued integrity of body parts immediately within his/her grasp.

4. Mostly I exhale a rising "Ah-aaaaaii!" In karate I used to say "Eit!" timed to end with KIME.